Re: [xsl] How to Create Side Heads in XSL-FO

I think I could do it using either a single-item fo:list or a single-row
table but I'm thinking that it must be easier and that I'm just missing
the obvious.

If you regarding <list> and <table> constructs as merely layout facilities
that reflect the kind of layout you need, these do turn out to be the easiest.

Can anyone offer some advice? For example, I need to format a chapter
title on a page where the body text is indented to 72pts creating an
offset column layout. The chapter number is left justified against the
page edge (left margin) and the title text is in the offset column.

What obvious thing about block placement am I missing in order to see
how to solve this problem in the simplest way?

Given your use of the phrase "block placement", I suppose you could put an
inline-container in your block, forcing the size to fit your chapter number
and causing the effect of indenting the title text.

But, personally I would have just used either the <list> or <table> because
of its ease of use and because they exist because of their unique layout
functionality and ease, not because of any historical semantic of the
purpose of a list or table information construct.